Tainted Liberty, Dark Independence
by metro.max
Summary: How far is too far? What is freedom worth when it's not really freedom at all? [oneshot]


**Disclaimer: **Avatar: the Last Airbender is not mine. I am not that amazing.

**Author's Notes: **With this story I am hesitantly pushing my canon OC(1) into the Avatarverse. His name is Kisho and you'll most likely remember him from The Crossroads of Destiny ( http://screenshots (dot) avatarspiritmedia (dot) net/220/027 (dot) jpg ). I'm planning on writing a short story about him in the near future.

And, for what is (as I can recall) the second time in my life, I have written something that isn't romance. Go me.

(1) canon OC (the self-invented term I'm using for Kisho) is a character mentioned/shown in the show, but not named/given additional information about. Ex.: Cabbage Man. He is a canon character, but absolutely nothing is known about him.

Alisa

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**Tainted Liberty, Dark Independence**

From the moment he saw her, all pale skin and dark hair and tiny, oh so tiny, he knew. Call it instinct, call it intuition, call it a gut feeling, but something inside of him knew. Maybe it was the way she acted, or the way she stood, or maybe it was some subliminal connection that all Earthbenders shared. But whatever it was, he knew—she was an Earthbender of the ages. He would never meet another one like her.

The way she moved—it sent shivers down his spine, and not exactly the good kind. She could crush him if she wanted to, he understood that much, could swallow him whole within the Earth if she felt so disposed. The way she worked the Earth, in a style he had never seen before and would never be able to imitate, was like watching the sun rise over a foggy horizon. It entranced him, watching her slip from one move to the next with a grace no other Earthbender could ever hope to accomplish, and he would have watched her all night if not for the sharp kick to the back of his knee as an agent—he couldn't remember the other man's name, if he had even learned it—leaned over him and whispered harshly in his face.

"You're needed at Lake Laogai. Some royal soldiers captured a rogue boy that needs tending to." The nameless man grinned maliciously, revealing yellowing teeth, wild eyes glowing in the dark. "I'm taking over the watch." He spotted the girl, now doing what looked like simple breathing exercises, and the added, "And maybe having a little fun while I'm at it."

He levitated a small rock in front of him, took aim, and launched it at the girl. It hit her in the head and she spun on the spot, one hand on the injury as she called, "Who's there?"

The agent stuffed his first in his mouth to mask his laughter. The other agent didn't bother to tell the nameless man off, as it would do him no good but a few loose teeth, and instead jumped from the roof to land with cat-like grace. He hurried off in the direction of Lake Laogai to perform his specialty—brainwashing. Or, as Long Feng called it, restoring the peace.

To keep order in Ba Sing Se, Long Feng said, among people who don't know what they want or how to behave like anything but the barbarians they are. That is why there are Dai Li, Long Feng had told him, with that calculating smile. We are here to ensure the people's freedom.

But as he went to wipe clean the memory of a wild Earth Kingdom teen, he couldn't help but think, was this really freedom? Was brainwashing an innocent kid really going to protect the people? Was government against people going to save them from the Fire Nation?

_No_, a wry, thin voice spoke from the back of his mind. _You're not fighting for freedom, you're fighting for Long Feng, for power and slavery. What the Avatar is fighting for—what that girl is fighting for—that's freedom. You're trying to stop them._

No. He wanted freedom, and the right to start over. He wanted what was right. He was protecting the people.

_By brainwashing them?_ taunted the voice. _You're making it worse. You're nothing but one of the many pawns in Long Feng's hands. You're not fighting for freedom, you're fighting for the destruction of the Earth Kingdom._

No! He would never turn his back on the Kingdom!

_Then why are you letting Long Feng destroy your home from the inside out?_

"What am I supposed to do?" he whispered harshly to the still air around him. "I'm only one person."

_The Avatar is only one person_, the voice said quietly. _That girl is only one person._

As he opened the tunnel to Lake Laogai and stepped down the steel ladder, as he prepared the green lantern with practiced ease, he knew why that girl was able to fight for true freedom, while he did nothing but hinder her work: she was stronger than him, smarter and braver and better. She was what he could never be.

She was fighting for freedom; he was fighting for death.

Never more in his life had he wished he wasn't a Dai Li agent.

**FIN.**


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